Sparring and matchmaking can mix
by Lord Cynic
Summary: First Megaman fanfic You've been warned! LanXMaylu & MegamanXRoll. Looks like fluff. A simple round of sparring matches between the quartet of friends and their navis could turn into something more for two of them... We're home, everyone!
1. Like Net Operator, like Net Navi

**WARNING:** Unless you want a long-winded author's note before the fanfic, skip ahead to the second horizontal line (the one after the legal disclaimer). Thank you.

**Lord Cynic:** "This is experiment two of my fanfic portfolio, after my FFTA fanfic. What do I mean? Well, after spending about 8-10 days looking for and reading Megaman fanfics, I've decided to write one of my own. It should be Lan/Maylu and Megaman/Roll centred, and a two-shot at that. Don't expect it to be subtle, because I assure you it won't be.

On a side note, Lan/Maylu and Megaman/Roll fanfics actually took up perhaps the lower percentage of couplings in the Romance section of Megaman fanfics... yes, I actually checked. Most of the others were Lan/Chaud, Lan/Megaman, Megaman/Protoman... if there were any Dex/Lan, Dex/Megaman, etc. yaoi fanfics... I'd be curling up on my chair fuming like the ovens in the first NT Warrior episode. I heard there was a Maylu/Roll fanfic as well... but for some reason it made me laugh. To this day I have no idea why. Actually, as I type this now it comes to me that some of the concepts in those stories seem somewhat amusing to me. Maybe it's curiosity... still, while I can picture yaoi or yuri in my head, I couldn't bring it in me to write about it. Oh well, each to their own.

Oh, last thing. I'm what may be considered to be a perfectionist when it comes to details in my fanfics. I take time to play the games, watch the shows or read the books to know as much as I can before writing my own stories. However, that doesn't mean I can't make mistakes. That may be the case as I write this... especially about what battle chips everyone has.

Sorry, one more thing, and that's it. I typed this up about 2-3 weeks ago. Since then I've decided to write another Megaman fanfic, of which the first chapter's already been typed. It's centred on a certain day in February, and as such the first chapter will be posted in that day. I call it a project as I'm hoping to make it over 10-15 chapters if possible. For those still reading my Golden Sun fanfics (as if I write anything else... heh), I'll take at least 2 more weeks from now for the next update. I've become dangerously engrossed in this leisure project and have been writing on it for the last 2 weeks. Send all flames, fireballs and atomic wedgies to Kirby, my review muse. Heh heh...

Okay, I'm done. Enjoy at your leisure."

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**Lord Cynic: **"I don't own Megaman NT Warriors (since that's what this story's characters and stuff is supposed to be based on). The dubbing of it belongs to ShoPro Ent., as far as I know. I think they did a good job with it. Really, I don't care what anyone says, I think it's good. Hey, don't look at me like that!"

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**Sparring and matchmaking can mix**

_Chapter 1: Like Net Operator, like Net Navi_

Another day, another battle between Megaman and Gutsman...

"Wide Sword battle chip, in! Download!"

"Time to cut the show!"

As Gutsman thumped his fists onto the battleground to create an earthquake, Megaman leaped into the air, a sword materialising and replacing his right hand. Frustrated, Gutsman tried to use his gigantic hands to give Megaman a thumping, only to be cut short (excuse the pun) by the handy swordsmanship of Megaman.

"Guts... beaten..."

As Megaman landed on his feet after delivering the final blow, a scoreboard flashed up on the computer screen in Yai's hideout: Megaman: 17, Gutsman: 0.

"Aw man, not again!" Dex complained, plopping onto the ground in defeat, clutching his PET. "That slippery little pest always gets me."

"Ohhh, yeah!" Lan cried, jumping up into the air and pumping his fist. "That's another day of perfect victories for me and Megaman!"

"Congratulations, Lan," Maylu said, beaming.

"Yeah," Yai agreed. "Although, it doesn't really count for much. Between us four, Dex is definitely the weakest link."

"Take that back!" Dex growled. "I could beat any of you easily, I just choose to bide my time."

"So, how long have you been 'biding'?" Yai asked, smugly still. "The last victory you've had against any of us must have been at least... eleven months ago? Y'know, before Lan got Megaman?"

"That's it!" Dex jumped onto his feet, causing the spectators (Lan and Maylu) to jump back in alarm. "Me and my Gutsman against you and your Glide, now!"

"I think we outta stay out of this," Lan said, meekly, scratching his head and gawking at the stare-off between Dex and Yai (although he could swear he saw Yai's lip tremble to hide a yawn).

"For once, I agree with you," Megaman remarked from the computer screen.

"Gee, thanks, Megaman."

Maylu and Roll giggled at the short exchange between NetOp and NetNavi. No matter how many times Lan and Megaman bickered, it never ceased to amuse the girls.

* * *

Meanwhile, the other half of the group seemed to have forgotten the others. One half of this group (or a quarter of the total group) were facing off against the other half (or quarter): Gutsman vs. Glide, Dex vs. Yai. The NetOps were shooting bolts of electricity through their eyes, the bolts meeting in the centre of the space between their faces as they sat cross-legged on the wooden floor. The NetNavis themselves were facing off on the computer screen in a good ol' fashioned Texas showdown. 

"Gutsman... smash Glide!" Gutsman roared, thumping his fists together threateningly.

"Miss Yai, are you ready?" Glide asked his Net Operator, ignoring his opponent's scare tactics.

"Of course," Yai drawled in her usual confident tone. "How about you, loser boy?" she added to Dex, smirking.

"Grr!" Dex growled, his free hand clenching into a tight fist. "You cocky punks won't stand a chance against out superior might!"

* * *

While Yai and Dex were preparing themselves, Megaman and Roll had returned to their PETS. Now, Lan and Megaman were watching Yai and Dex's confrontation with increased interest, while Maylu and Roll sat next to them glancing at them out of the corners of their eyes. 

(_A/N: Translation: This group is talking amongst each other while the other group are doing what you just read above._)

"So," Lan began, "how long do you think this battle will last?"

"Well," Megaman said, closing his eyes, crossing his arms and bowing his head slightly, "I think Gutsman won't even last three attacks from Glide."

"I wouldn't be so sure," Roll said rationally, realising there was competition to be had. She wore a mischievous smile on her face that only Maylu could comprehend. "Four attacks. No more, no less."

"I'll take that wager," Megaman said, challenging the pink navi. "What's in it for the winner?"

"Well, let's see," Roll said, contemplating her options. Finally, she decided on something and the smile on her face grew wider. "Let's make the rules interesting. Let's say, 'Like NetNavi, like Operator?'"

Megaman's eyes furrowed in confusion, as did Lan's.

"What exactly do you mean?"

'Definitely like Operator, like Navi,' Roll thought, and by the look on her own Operator's face she could tell Maylu was thinking the same thing. She soon realised that Megaman was staring at her through his PET (let's just say he is, okay?), waiting for an explanation, and she coloured slightly. "Um, what I mean is, let's raise the stakes. If one of us loses the bet, then not only does that navi lose, but the operator loses as well."

"Um... okay," Megaman said slowly. He looked up at Lan and could tell he was nervous about this as well.

"What are you saying?" Maylu whispered urgently to Roll. "This really doesn't sound like a good idea, Roll."

"Oh, relax," Roll said dismissively. "It'll be fun, trust me. Besides, it's not like you have anything to worry about."

"I hope so," Maylu said, with a slight tone of sadness in her voice. Or was it a secret fear of the consequences of this little bet?

"So how would this work?" Megaman had asked, regaining Roll and Maylu's attention.

"Simple," Roll said, beaming. "The four of us will think up of a wager in our heads. These will be the rewards if either pair of us wins."

"How would we be able to tell the losers what the wager is?" Megaman sounded slightly fretful. "I mean, there are some things I wouldn't want Lan to know..."

This got Lan's attention immediately.

"What was that?"

"Nothing," Megaman said quickly.

"Oh, that's easily taken care of," Roll said, replying to Megaman's query. "Us navis will send each other their wagers through secret emails."

Now this got Maylu's attention.

"Since when did you have secret emails?" she asked, having been awoken from her daydreaming stupor.

"Since forever," Roll said, smirking. "Anyway," she went on, "navis will be sending via email, operators," her smirk grew wider to the discomfort of everyone involved, "will be sending wagers to each other the old fashioned way."

"Old fashioned way?" Lan asked, thoroughly confused by the whole concept.

"You know," Roll said, relishing the fact that the secret plan she'd be concocting was reaching a vital point. "Hand-delivered mail."

If possible, the smile on the pink navis face grew even wider at the expressions of shock and horror (or shockor) on everyone's faces. They stared at her incredulously, but she remained determined.

"What's wrong?" she taunted. "Scared?"

"Um, Roll?" Maylu asked timidly.

"Yes?"

"The battle's over," her operator replied, pointing to the computer screen. Large letters had just started flashing: Glide: 1, Gutsman: 0.

"Oh... that's too bad," Roll said weakly. She knew it would be no point asking how long the battle took because the opposing parties would have a feud over that as well.

* * *

"I told you we'd win," Yai said in her gloating manner. "Glide and I always win." 

"I-I-I..." Dex was still in denial over his loss. Poor guy. "I let you win!" See what I mean? "Yeah, we went easy on you!"

"Sure," Yai said. "And Lan and Maylu were making out behind us all this time."

If this didn't attract attention, then nothing would. Everyone positively stared at the blonde; some with wide grins (Megaman and Roll), others with looks of shockor (Lan and Maylu), others looks of surprise (Gutsman), others with placid expressions (Glide), and others wearing looks of dark incredulous (Dex).

"What was that?" he asked, scowling. It was common knowledge to the quartet of human companions that Dex had a major crush on Maylu and any competition would be dealt with very painfully (poor victim).

"Speaking of those two," Yai said, ignoring Dex's irritable expression. "C'mon, you two haven't sparred against each other yet."

Lan and Maylu glanced at each other nervously. After the statement from Yai about them getting together, they didn't know whether they had the heart to battle against each other. Plus, they didn't think they could bear Dex glaring at the pair of them from behind, although it would be mostly directed at Lan.

Meanwhile, their navis seemed to be thinking the same thing. Each knew that the other was a superb battler, but so far they'd avoided having to battle each other. It wasn't so much the shame of losing, not in Megaman's mind, at least. It was the fear of seriously hurting Roll if he got too fierce or careless. Sure it was just a sparring match, but still...

In Roll's mind, she knew Megaman was tough. Heck, he'd been beaten up so many times but always seemed to battle back and get on top. But did she really want to battle someone she cared so deeply for? Wait, what was she thinking?

"How about it?" Yai insisted. "C'mon, Dex and I had to battle, now you two."

After hefty sighs from everyone involved, Lan and Maylu nodded and prepared for battle.

"Ready?" Lan asked quietly, his head bent towards the floor so he didn't have to look at anyone. Megaman stared up at him, knowing why he felt so depressed at having to battle his childhood friend. However, he didn't say anything.

"Sure," Maylu replied with more confidence than she felt. Only Roll recognised the fear in her operator's voice.

Dex and Yai watched with increased interest as Lan and Maylu stepped up to the jack-in sockets. Dex was eyeing Lan with a dangerous sort of "try any moves and try my fist" expression. This temporarily made Lan forget his worries about Maylu, and instead they were replaced by the fears of being beaten to a pulp by Dex. He even had to frequently mentally shake himself to try and wash off the uncomfortable feelings he was experiencing.

Lan thought (or was certain) Maylu could be coping much better than he was. However, if he dared to lift his head and glance at his opponent, he would've seen that Maylu was almost trembling. Of course, it didn't help her cause that Yai was winking at her in an all-knowing manner. Maylu wondered just how much Yai had discovered about everyone in a short space of time, but she didn't have any more time to do so because Dex was getting impatient.

"C'mon, let's go!" he demanded. "Let's see just who's the best."

Lan gulped, remembering the looks (or death glares) Dex was giving him. However, he pushed those looks aside in order to be focussed for the battle.

"Jack-in, Megaman! Power up!"

"Jack-in, Roll! Power up!" Maylu repeated next to him. 'Be careful, Roll,' she thought immediately afterwards.

* * *

Megaman and Roll materialised onto the computer screen, the blue navi before the pink. They stood at their regular battle spots, seemingly glaring each other down. However, they were just trying to buy some time. 

"What were you trying to do before?" Megaman asked, lowering his voice so that only he and Roll could hear.

"What do you mean?" Roll asked back, also lowering her voice. Megaman thought he could detect a sort of mischievous feigned innocence in Roll's voice, but disregarded it.

"With the bet," he replied. "What was the point of all that?"

"Oh, that," Roll said. Yep, just as Megaman thought, there was a sort of sneakiness in Roll's expression. "Haven't you noticed something between Lan and Maylu?"

"I did notice some tension between them," Megaman said. "When Yai forced this battle, they seemed very reluctant to do so." 'Not that I blame them,' he thought to himself.

"All right, start the battle already!" Dex's voice commanded from outside the computer screen. Megaman and Roll jumped at this sudden interruption in the conversation, but assumed their battle poses.

"Go easy on me," Roll said, using her normal volume and a mock tone of distress in her voice. Megaman smirked.

"I'll try, but I can't make any promises," he replied.

* * *

Yai watched this briefly, then turned to Dex. 

"Hey Dex," she said slowly, "There's a box full of potato chips in my mansion I forgot about. Knowing you have a big stomach, I thought you'd want to get it."

"Why me?" Dex whined. "I wanna watch this battle."

Yai sighed heavily. 'What a dunce.' "Well," she began, "if you get it, you can eat the whole box."

"All right!" Dex almost knocked Yai sky high in excitement. "How do I get it?"

"Simple," Yai explained, rubbing her head. "Go over to the mansion and ask someone for the box of chips. Tell them I sent ya."

"That's easy enough," Dex said. "Tell them to keep going until I come back or I'm going to cream the next NetNavi I see into dust with Gutsman. If the battle does end before I get back, I bet 500 zennys that Megaman loses."

"I'll take that bet," Yai replied. She then muttered "Yeah, right" to herself as Dex left. She then turned to her PET. "Glide, I need you to tell the butlers to distract Dex as long as possible."

"Will do, Miss Yai." In less than a jack-in, he was gone.

Yai smirked and sat back down to watch the battle between Megaman and Roll.

Lan had seemed to wake up from his mild depression and shift himself into battle mode. He didn't seem to mind that he was battling his oldest friend, since to him an opponent was an opponent, no matter who they were. Maylu sensed this, and she finally felt that her heart was back in the battle.

"Roll, go for it!" she yelled.

* * *

Roll was relieved to hear that Maylu was upbeat again and she charged towards Megaman. Just like against Gutsman, Megaman swiftly dodged to his right. This gave them the perfect chance to continue their conversation. 

"So that's why you were so insistent on getting Lan and Maylu involved," Megaman said.

"That's right," Roll said matter-of-factly. "Those two are almost inseparable."

"Yeah, that certainly seems the case," Megaman said pensively. "At least for half an hour every day I hear Lan talking about Maylu. It's like he's obsessed or something." He suddenly realised what he said and covered his mouth in shock. 'Lan's gonna kill me now,' he thought desperately.

"Really?" Roll asked, her eyes glittering. However, the slow motion that comes from a dodged attack ended and both navis stood their ground yet again. Megaman sweatdropped at the starry expression in Roll's eyes, but thankfully this went unnoticed by the NetOps.

"Aqua tower battle chip, in! Download!" came Maylu's voice.

"Mini Boomer battle chip, in! Download!" replied Lan's voice.

As the surging water tower charged towards Megaman, he threw the mini boomers in its way to block it. The resulting cloud of smoke gave the navis another chance to converse.

"So, Lan talks to you about Maylu?" Roll asked, her eyes shining brightly. The expression of Roll's face caused Megaman to sweatdrop slightly.

"Yeah, and he always thinks up excuses to bring her up in a conversation." Megaman mimicked Lan's voice. ""What do you think Maylu would do?" "Do you think Maylu would like it if I..." "Maylu would like this, wouldn't she?"" He returned to his normal voice. "Like I said, it's like he's obsessed."

"Well, y'know," Roll began, twiddling her thumbs nervously, "Maylu's the same. Except it's more subtle than that."

"How so?" Megaman asked as the smoke started to clear.

"I usually have to slip him into the conversation very discreetly," Roll replied, eyes gleaming with mischief again.

The smoke cleared completely, and the two navis suspiciously appeared to be unhurt in any way. This perplexed Lan and Maylu who thought at least one of them would've taken the advantage. However, the confusion soon vanished as they launched battle techniques again.

"Use your Megablaster!"

"Dodge and attack!"

Megaman's right (I think) hand morphed into his blaster and he pelted several shots at Roll, who dodged swiftly and came within inches of him. Yep, you guessed it, another perfect opportunity to talk.

"I think it's time we did a little matchmaking," Roll whispered almost sinisterly. The tone in Roll's face caused Megaman to sweatdrop again before speaking.

"I guess so. What do you suggest?"

"Leave that to me," Roll replied, and Megaman could tell she'd been planning this for a while. "I'll send you a secret email. Just because Maylu and Lan know about our secret emails doesn't mean we still can't keep them from those two."

"All right, I guess I'm in," Megaman said, wondering what was in store for his NetOp and whether or not it would have any repercussions.

"Thank you!" Roll said, hugging Megaman tightly and giving him a kiss on the cheek.

Megaman didn't expect that at all. In fact, it made him freeze completely on the spot. His eyes didn't blink, his mouth didn't twitch, and his arms and legs didn't budge. He just... couldn't move. 'What was that?' he thought in his mind, the only thing that seemed to be operating.

* * *

Lan and Maylu were watching this with eyes wider than the black hole that was Dex and Lan's stomaches. It seemed that even Roll's NetOp didn't have a clue what was going on. Actually, the only person who didn't look shocked was Yai who was sitting in the back, smirking broadly. She'd known about the romance between the two navis as well as their operators. It was just something in their body language towards each other. Well, that and discreet information Glide had been feeding her. Again, like Operator, like Navi. 

"Did she just do what I think she did?" Lan uttered, with extreme difficulty to boot.

Maylu just nodded dumbly and watched as Roll poked the still-frozen Megaman to make him fall onto the ground of the battlefield. This produced sweatdrops from everyone, including Yai.

The computer screen flashed: Roll: 1, Megaman: 0, and everyone fell down in stupidity.

No one seemed to notice that Dex had returned carrying the box of chips.

"Man, those guys just wouldn't let me leave!" he said, heaving the box behind him with a leash. He took one look at the computer screen and burst out laughing. "Hahahahahahaha!!! Megaman lost?! That's 500 zennys you owe me, Yai!"

Roll turned around to find everyone staring at her and Megaman, and she blushed lightly.

"Eheh..."

* * *

**Lord Cynic:** "Like I said, I made no guarantees that it would be subtle. But maybe I got carried away? Oh well, it'll come together in the next chapter. It might be a marathon bugger of a thing, we'll see how it goes. Comments? Criticisms? Flames of hatred? Don't go easy on me, I can take the heat. Diss the couples though and I'll send my Kirby in a Viking helmet to disturb your sanity. Nonetheless, I need my mailbox to be full for once... 

Don't worry about the Mercury Matchmaker update if that's what you're thinking about. I'm picturing the events as I speak… well, for most of the characters, anyway."


	2. Megaman and Roll, Makeshift Matchmakers

**Lord Cynic:** "Yay! Reviews!..." (_clears his throat_) "My gratitude to the people who've read and reviewed. You've made my day, truly. I feel pumped! Oh, and before I begin I'd better reply to the reviews."

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**dreamz-of-hope:**_Yay, my first review! Thanks for the compliments. Who's this... oh, Hope, that's right. Eheh... yeah, I read your profile. I'm a fan of Cardcaptors (cough) so I'm eager to read your work. Sorry if the chapter seemed a little long to you. If memory serves me correctly my Golden Sun chapters are only 2000-2500 words on average, and this was 500-1000 words well over the average. I'll try to shorten the chapter, but if I'm to complete this as the two-shot it's intended to be I can't make any promises._

**Michael Bulaich:** _Heh, you got that right. As far as Megaman couples goes, Lan/Maylu and Megaman/Roll own all. _

**Esty-chan:**_Hey, thanks. No worries, I hope this does it for you._

**Seeiko:**_Eh... I hate FFnet sometimes. It took the slash from Lan/Maylu (no doubt it's probably done it again now). What's that got to do with anything? Well, the X you use gives me a good enough substitute for it... eh. Anyways... pants in France... it's like flossin' in Boston, curlin' in Berlin, and there's no place finer than China. If that makes sense. Heh, some sympathy needed for Megaman in terms of how he lost, methinks. No one would've expected that, not even me. Who writes these? Er... look, it's Batman!_ (Runs)

**Macross-Green:**_Yes, well, I've played Battle Network once or twice myself. I'm just used to writing on the anime rather than the game if I can. If Golden Sun was an anime I'd be writing on the anime basis then. To be honest, I played BN before I watched NT, and when I heard Mayl's name being pronounced Maylu I did get a little confused. Neh... I have no doubt Gutsman got trounced by Yai's rare chips though - he always does. Thanks for the heads up, I'll keep myself aware of your presence as I type the rest of this story (being a two-shot like I said). Actually... I'm getting a feeling this'll be a tri-shot instead. We'll see what happens._

**Mage of Water:** _Naw, you're not pathetic. You just know great stories when you see them. Okay, getting ahead of myself there. _"Hey, wait up!" _Shush! Anyway, thanks for the thumbs up, I appreciate it._

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**Lord Cynic:** "I don't own Megaman NT Warriors, or Megaman for that matter. If not, well you could guess that Chaud wouldn't be as self-assured as he is. He'd probably be more so." (sweatdrops)

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_Chapter 2: Megaman and Roll - Makeshift Matchmakers_

The kids stared at the battle screen in front of them. Roll was scratching her head embarrassedly and standing to the side of Megaman, who was lying on the floor with a frozen expression of his face. His mouth was gaping open slightly in disbelief of what just happened, as were everyone else's. In fact, only Dex was moving - he was doing a triumphant dance at his latest victory. Out of the quartet of kids, only he didn't realise that 500 zennys were a speck in Yai's purse, so in respect it was a hollow victory.

Eventually, Dex ceased his dopey dancing and became the first one to speak for two minutes.

"So," he began snidely, "how'd Megaman get defeated?"

"Erm..." Lan and Maylu weren't sure how to answer this without causing some sort of undesired reaction. When they did, they spoke simultaneously (without knowing it).

"Roll kissed Megaman, causing him to freeze up."

Another awkward silence followed this announcement, until Dex yelped in pain.

"Oww! My PET's burning up!"

Lan, Maylu and Yai stared at him, then noticed that his PET was flaming red - literally. They watched him drop his PET in pain and sweatdropped, knowing why it was heating up.

"Gutsman heard what we said," Lan said, noticing the obvious. "I guess he's jealous of Megaman." He scratched his head. "When Megaman wakes up, I'd hate to be him."

Dex was blowing his hands back to normal when he realised what Lan and Maylu had said. He suddenly imitated his PET by flaring up, and Lan stepped back many paces when the Maylu-infatuated boy stomped towards him, eyebrows narrowing.

"What do you mean, Roll kissed Megaman?" he demanded. When he received no answer his eyes narrowed even further. "If that means what I think it does, what does that mean between you and Maylu, hmm?"

"He's smarter than I gave him credit for," Yai muttered sarcastically, her eyes turning into slits. "I wonder if he knows what two plus two is?"

This unsettled the tension, and everyone fell down in stupidity.

"This is not funny!" Dex yelled. "I do so know what two plus two is!" He held out his hand and began counting off his fingers, causing everyone to sweatdrop exasperatedly. "Let's see, one plus one is two... plus another one is three... then plus one is..." He paused, stumbling on the most obvious step of adding two to two. "Er... seven?"

He sweatdropped when everyone fell down in stupidity again.

"I take that back," Yai sighed, holding her hands in the air and shaking her head. "There isn't a day that he ceases to amaze me with his stupidity..."

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Roll wasn't paying attention to the kids' antics, as she was kneeling over Megaman trying to wake him from his frozen state.

"Megaman? Are you there? Speak to me!" she became worried and fretted over the blue navi. "Come on, snap out of it! Please!"

To her relief Megaman started to stir, but what he was muttering caused her to blush embarrassedly.

"The scent of an angel doth washeth over me... who doth bless me with thy presence?"

Slowly, Megaman's eyes opened and the first thing he saw was Roll standing to one side of him, her face blushing madly. The realisation of what he said gradually dawned on him until he too was beet red and flustered. He sat up hastily and excused himself over and over.

Roll simply shook her head and smiled. Megaman took this as an acceptance of his apology and smiled tiredly. He stood up and offered his hand to Roll, who accepted it and let him assist her in standing up.

"So, when do we get started?" Megaman asked, watching the screen out of the corner of his eye in case the kids were paying attention to them. Luckily, the others were preoccupied still, so the navis were in no danger of being overheard.

"How about tonight?" Roll proposed, the mischievous glint returning to her eye. "I've got everything worked out perfectly."

"Er, okay," Megaman said hesitantly, fearing the worst situation from this. "You'll send me an email with the instructions?"

"Yep," Roll replied brightly. "Just follow what I say and before you know it our NetOps will be head over heels in love with each other... well, more so."

"I guess you're right," Megaman said pensively, but before he could contemplate the scheme he was caught in another hug.

"I knew you'd see it my way!" Roll said enthusiastically. Megaman was just able to glimpse an evil spark in the pink navi's eyes before she stunned him stupid with another light kiss on the cheek. She giggled when he became rigid again and fell to the floor, then thought to herself, 'This is becoming fun.'

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Little did the navis know they weren't alone. Glide had crept silently into the computer and was watching them from a distance. He smiled knowingly at the events taking place, but wasn't sure whether Megaman and Roll could complete their mission as matchmakers. Nonetheless, he knew it was better left to Lan and Maylu's navis to join the two childhood friends together so he didn't worry too much.

There was a cry of pain from Dex, which indicated that Gutsman was fuming again, and Glide logged out of the screen. Roll heard it too, but she had other things to worry about... like trying to concoct a plan to join Lan and Maylu together. Well, that and how to reawaken Megaman again...

* * *

"Oww! Oooh! Ahh!" Dex danced on the spot while trying to nurse his burnt hands. "Gutsman, knock it off!" 

"Guts... me no like what going on between Roll and the runt," Gutsman huffed. He complied to his navi however and reset the PET to its original temperature.

"Gutsman sure has a temper," Lan whispered to Maylu, who nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, but I guess we shouldn't be surprised," she replied reasonably. "Those two are like peas in a pod."

"What was that?" Dex growled, rounding on the whisperers. "Got something to say against me and Gutsman?"

"N-No," Lan and Maylu replied nervously.

"We were just saying how you and Gutsman... er..." Lan racked his head for ideas, and thankfully he found one. "How you two are the powerhouses of our gang."

"Oh, really?" Dex was taken aback, and he lowered his fist to the relief of Lan and Maylu. "Well, if you put it that way." He walked back to his PET, and Lan and Maylu breathed a sigh of relief. They caught each other's eye and grinned sheepishly, which was noted by Yai, who was watching them since Roll's action had stunned the Ops as well as Megaman.

They were just about to relax when Dex cried out in triumph.

"Aha! So that's it!"

Lan and Maylu shrank in fear, thinking that Dex had caught them staring at each other, but Dex simply raised his hand into the air, showing four fingers.

"Two plus two is four!"

For the third time in 15 minutes, everyone fell down in stupidity.

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The next day was a school day, and for the third day that week (it was Wednesday) Lan was late to class. Ms. Mari was not impressed.

"What did I tell you when you were late on Monday, Lan?" she asked the boy.

"Not to be late again," Lan mumbled timidly, prodding his pointer fingers against each other.

"Yet you were also late the next day," Ms. Mari said, crossing her arms. "Remember what I said would happen if you were to be late three days in a row?"

"Um..." Lan took his time to remember Ms. Mari's warning from Tuesday. Eventually his memory served his purpose - but when it registered everyone saw his face drain almost completely of colour. "N-No, y-you can't be serious! I thought it was just an... an empty threat..."

Ms. Mari's eyebrows narrowed dangerously and Lan shrank in his seat in fear. Students around him sneered, and it was obvious that they knew what Lan and Ms. Mari were speaking about. However, one death glare from Maylu erased the sneers from everyone's faces. Lan on the other hand felt as big as a battlechip as Ms. Mari approached his desk, her eyes still narrowed in a lethal stare.

"Let me teach you a vital piece of advice, not as a teacher of this class, but as a teacher of life in general," she said slowly, lowering herself so she could stare straight at Lan. "Never, I repeat, never assume any threat is an empty threat." She stood up again and pointed to a closet at the back of the room. "You know what happens if you don't take warnings seriously. I expect you to be back in five minutes, no more, no less. And no, you may not take your PET with you."

Lan glanced desperately at Maylu for support, but she simply gave him a sympathetic smile and didn't say a word. He eventually became resigned to his fate and trudged from his seat to the back of the room. He cast one last fleeting look at the smug faces of everyone in the class before opening the closet door and disappearing inside it.

The final click of the door indicated to the teacher that she could finally begin the class, and she stood up. Everyone sweatdropped when she gave a giant smile to her students. However, they'd not say anything, especially when they heard an anguished cry from Lan in the closet. Ms. Mari suddenly grew an even wider smile than before, and everyone cowered slightly in their seats.

"Well," she said, clapping her hands together, "I did say he had five minutes before he had to return. Let's spend those minutes quietly talking among ourselves, shall we?"

The class nodded dumbly, then huddled together so they could whisper to each other. Only Maylu didn't join in the spare time - she was busy scribbling on a piece of paper from her desk, leaving her and Lan's navis with the perfect opportunity to discuss the details of their matchmaking. Still, to be safe they lowered their voices to avoid anyone eavesdropping on them.

"This will be easier than sending emails," Roll said, immediately taking charge of the conversation. "I must remember to get Maylu to thank Ms. Mari for this later."

"If that's the case, then you'd better tell her to thank Ms. Mari when Lan's not around," Megaman said, cringing at the thought of Lan's punishment. "I daresay he wouldn't be appreciative of Maylu thanking Ms. Mari for... whatever's happened to him."

"You don't know what she told him yesterday?" Roll asked, slightly curious.

"No idea," Megaman said, shrugging. "I was on the Net when she told him whatever she did."

"What were you doing there?" Roll interrogated, her curiosity getting the better of her.

"Reading some chat boards," Megaman answered, waving his hand dismissively. "Anyway, what did you have in mind for tonight?"

"Oh, that's right," Roll said, remembering her plan for later in the day. "You see, we'll -"

She was interrupted when the closet door opened from the back of the room. Every head turned to stare at the end result of Lan's punishment, and almost everyone had to clasp their hands to their mouths to keep from bursting out laughing. Lan immediately disappeared back inside the closet, but a stern command from Ms. Mari drew him out to his expectant audience. His face was burning red with humiliation, but that was nothing compared to what he was wearing: dark red leotards, complete with a gold tiara and pink shoes.

Lan's head was bent down to avoid the eyes of everyone in the room, but they weren't looking at him anyway. They couldn't for the life of them anyway, because everyone (including Ms. Mari) was rolling on the floor with uncontrollable laughter. Maylu was the solitary sympathiser of the room, as she was facing the front of the room, still scribbling away. She didn't even hear everyone's laughter, which indicated that she was deeply immersed with whatever she was doodling.

On the other hand, Roll realised this was the perfect chance to lay out the details of her plan to Megaman. She ushered him into her PET and whispered speedily to him while everyone was distracted. Megaman's face went through many transformations: wonder, suspicion, doubt, horror, fear, amusement, then relaxation. When Roll was finished, Megaman was staring at her with great incredulous, but she simply smiled and reassured him that the idea would work. With great reluctance he believed her and returned to his PET as everyone calmed down enough to speak properly.

"Okay, okay," Ms. Mari gasped, catching her breath as she clambered to her desk. "Thank you Lan, your punishment has been served. You may go back in and change."

Mumbling to himself, Lan disappeared back into the closet, to the great disappointment of those who still needed the laugh. It took 10 minutes longer for Lan to emerge in his normal clothes, but as he returned to his seat there was still the less-than-subtle snort of laughter from students as he passed their desks. Ironically though, he was saved any further humiliation by the same person who delivered the embarrassment by directing the class's attention to the beginning of the lesson.

Lan was preparing himself for a 'well-deserved' rest when he noticed Maylu scribbling on her piece of paper. However, he didn't want punishment from another female so he let her be and slept. Strangely it was a deep sleep, filled with images of someone he couldn't recognise, yet felt soothingly familiar about. A peculiar circular symbol was on the person's hair, but that was all he could envision of the person. Unfortunately for him, no matter how much he tried he couldn't perceive who the person was.

The bell rang for recess, and Lan awoke with a start. He tilted his head to his right to find Maylu gently tapping him on the shoulder.

"Come on, Lan, school's over," she said. She smiled when he yawned and sat up in his seat. "Let's go."

Lan nodded, still immersed in the odd dream he just had, and followed his childhood friend numbly out of the school. Yet, he couldn't wash the images from his head, nor decipher their meaning.

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**Lord Cynic:** "I thought about completing the story in one long chapter, but remembering the request from my first Megaman story reviewer I decided to cut this shorter and leave the conclusion for the final chapter. If you're wondering about the dream, don't worry I have that covered for the next chapter.

Until next time, Lord Cynic signing off. Logout!"


	3. Impossible desires

**Lord Cynic:** "At last, the conclusion to my first Megaman fanfic! Once again I have to thank my readers and/or reviewers, and to be honest I didn't expect more than 5 reviews in total. Still, proves me wrong, doesn't it? There are lots more Lan/Maylu and Megaman/Roll supporters than I know of, at least. Okay, the replies to the reviews first, then let's bring this baby home!"

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**Seeiko: **_Oh man... for a review that's one of the funniest I've ever read in my life... oh man... thanks for making my day, I mean it. Phew... okay, let's see..._

_The crowd roars with tremendous force, blowing the frail sea craft off its course!... er, yeah. This was quicker than you expected? Wow, someone as lethargic as me... must be a purple moon. I challenge you to a yawning contest! Be warned, I can be awake for 10 hours and still yawn like I've been awake for 3._

_Maylu's drawing will also be revealed in this chapter... well that is kinda obvious if you think about it. I can't draw... I tried, but my pencil tried to eat me. Hey, don't look at me like that, it really did! It was... disturbing... Although I have to disagree with you about pens. They're cool, but when you're sprawled on your bed writing fanfics with black and blue pens, it's hard to keep both in your sights. Seven times I've misplaced and relocated my pens this week alone. So what if it's Saturday where I am? It just proves my point._

_I'm not into French, but I think it's 'adieu'... it sounds like a noise someone makes when they sneeze. (_sweatdrops_) Me, I'd prefer to learn Italian at the first chance I could get. It has nothing to do with Nintendo and Mario, I swear! I just love pizza, that's all... heh heh... suckers..._

_No, no, stay. I'm lonely, and my alter ego's setting fire to my papers again... (_turning around to find the alter ego holding drafts of his to-be-submitted fanfic_) HEY! THAT'S MY NEW FANFIC!!! You torch that and I swear I'll make up an imaginary girlfriend!... (_to audience_) Er, excuse me..._

**Tsuki Tamer:** _Thanks dude, means a lot._

**The D.J. C.J:** _Ahaha... I see someone else shares my view on the current onslaught of yaoi/slash fanfics. I'm not going to criticise people's choices in fanfics though... each to their own as I said. Anyway, thanks for the compliments._

**a fan of megaman:** _I assure you, Megaman would be very reluctant to go through with the plan. However, as a member of the Makeshift Matchmakers he must carry on until his mission is complete. Lan and Maylu shall be together! Muwahahahahaha!!!... oh, um, anyway... that's very hefty praise you've delivered, especially for a Megaman 'novice' such as myself. I appreciate it though, thanks a lot. Yeah, sorry for delays if there are any. It's not as easy as it sounds, you know... but damn this chapter should be large enough._

**dreamz-of-hope:**_ Aw, I'd know how that is... I once had to go a month without it because I was failing a class I sucked at anyway. The conspiracies of school... and no worries about the shortened chapter thing. Although, that said I might have to apologise for this chapter then. It's over 3000 words... eepness..._

_**Esty-chan:** Hey againness. Yep, I seem to be pumping this story out as fast as I possibly can while maintaining at least 2500 words a chapter... heh... before my Valentine's Day fanfic I might find another fanfic to write, so we may see. It's great to be someone else's inspiration for once. Most of my fanfics are written after reading other people's stories, so they influence and inspire me to write my own work. "Rock&Roll" - that's really clever. It took me a few seconds to work it out, but that's brilliant. Made me laugh for once. Thanks._

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**Lord Cynic:** "Megaman and Megaman NT Warrior don't belong to me. But look, it's a Pokemon bobble head toy I got from a vending machine!... moving on..."

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**Chapter 3: Impossible desires**

Lan and Maylu walked home together after school. Maylu had told Lan that Dex and Yai didn't have the time to wait ten whole minutes for Lan to wake up, so they went ahead without them. In fact, even Ms. Mari had left the classroom before Maylu had finally awoken the sleeping beast. However, for some strange reason it seemed that Maylu knew that she'd be able to wake the boy with enough perseverance. It was just in her nature, she supposed. Many years of waking Lan for school almost every morning gave her enough experience to get through anything.

However, Lan was still lethargic as he and Maylu strolled home after school. It wasn't so much as the residue of his slumber, though. It had more to do with the bizarre dream he had during class. Who was that person, he kept asking himself. Why does it seem like I've seen them before? What could it mean?

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L_an found himself in a dark forest. There was dense purple fog all around him and no one in sight. He was completely alone; not even Megaman was there to accompany him. He thought that rather strange, and swore he was wearing his PET on his waist. He checked, but to his surprise there was nothing there. Very strange, he mused to himself. _

_'Oh well, guess I should look around,' he finally decided, and proceeded to trying to navigate his way through the think fog. However, when he tried to walk to his east a barrier kept him from advancing. 'This doesn't mean sense,' he thought, confused, and tried again to walk in the same direction. Unfortunately the barrier once again prevented his progress, and he settled on trying a different direction. However, when he attempted to walk to the west of himself the barrier halted him once more._

_Lan was about to give up when he heard a soft voice break through the force field._

_"Lan," it said in a melancholy tone. "Lan, please hear me..."_

_"Who is that?" Lan cried out in a panic, spinning around in all directions to try and spot where the voice was calling. "Who are you? How do you know my name?"_

_"Lan," the voice moaned, "you know who it is... it's me... it's me..."_

_"I don't understand," Lan yelled out. "Who are you? I don't recognise you."_

_"You know who I am... you know... you know..."_

_The voice faded into the darkness, and Lan was left to be alone once more. Frustrated, Lan broke into a run and charged towards the barrier that barred his progress._

_To his surprise he passed straight through it and found himself in an old-fashioned building. He glanced backwards to see if the forest was still there, but to his shock there was nothing but stonewalls. Perplexed, he took a stroll around the building._

_The building was almost empty, albeit for a few moth-eaten tables and broken armchairs. The walls were bare, and the windows were dusty and in immediate need of attention. In fact, the whole building looked in desperate need of renovation and redemption from the brink of collapse. The ceiling had one solitary chandelier, and this feature dimly lit up the building in a pale blue light._

_'At least I can see through this,' Lan thought in a slightly amused manner. He took a turn around the building, wondering where he now was and where the forest went. And the voice, who was that? Why did it cry out to him, and why did it say he already knew it? The questions were becoming numerous, too much so for Lan to handle._

_He sat heavily on one of the armchairs and stared at the wall in front of him. For some reason he felt fatigued, as if his energy had been sapped out of him by some unknown power. The wall he was staring at became blurred, and his eyelids grew heavy as he struggled to maintain his strength. Slowly his energy slipped out of his body, and he knew that it was a matter of time before he entered unconsciousness._

_However, it never came. Lan opened his eyes wearily and discovered that someone was floating in a mist in front of him. He sat up with a start and rubbed his eyes in disbelief, yet the person was still there, albeit hidden faintly by the light smog. Lan climbed out of the armchair and gingerly stepped towards the person, but as he grew closer a strong feeling washed over him. It felt warm and comforting, as if the person in the mist was emitting a tranquil and strangely familiar aura. As Lan edged closer to the mist the feeling grew stronger, and he could swear he recognised the entrancing scent, but not where from. _

_Lan was now in clear sight of the person in the mist, but could just barely see their faint outline. However, his eyes caught a strange circular symbol on the left side of the person's hair. A memory clicked in his mind, but for the life of him he just couldn't form the memory into a mental image in his head._

_A sharp cry awoke Lan from his mental stupor, and he turned his head to find the person moaning softly. It was as if the person was in pain, and Lan's sense of morality couldn't bear the thought of someone being in peril. He charged forward to try and help the person, but every step he took brought him further to the person, even though he was still approaching the mist. Eventually the figure disappeared into the unknown, and Lan was swept into the mist, where he fell through a deep hole and into the unknown..._

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A concerned Maylu, who was staring at him curiously, eventually waked him from his stupor. He stared back at her with a confused look on his face, until pain registered and he shot into the sky in agony.

"Owww! Oww! Owwwwww!!!" He landed back on the ground with a thud and rubbed his sore backside.

Maylu smothered her laughter as Lan unsuccessfully attempted to extract thorns from his rear. He scowled at her, and she apologised sincerely and offered to pull the thorns from his pants. Immediately he hesitated, but the pain was too unbearable and he accepted her assistance. The navis watched on with increased interest as Maylu tentatively began yanking the thorns out of Lan's backside.

After yelps of pain and plenty of wincing, Lan was free from the defences of the rose bush he'd walked into. He was still rubbing his backside though and Maylu began giggling again. Lan was going to scowl at her again, but like Megaman with Roll he couldn't muster up the facial expression. Instead he grinned sheepishly and laughed.

"I guess it is funny in a way, isn't it?" he remarked, becoming amused at the thought. Maylu nodded after catching her breath, and the two friends resumed their walk home.

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The kids' navis were watching the events with amusement, from Lan's belated response to his predicament to the laughter between the friends. Roll never felt prouder in her life, but she knew there was still work to do. And with her operator's crush's navi (who was her own crush) working with her, she knew she couldn't fail. She glanced over at the aforementioned blue navi, but found that he was lying on the back of the bed in his PET, his eyes focussed on the ceiling. He seemed deeply immersed in thought, and Roll teleported from her PET to his to investigate.

"Hey, what's up?" she asked cheerfully. Megaman snapped out of his train of thought and tilted his head in her direction.

"Oh, hey," he said quietly. "Nothing much, just thinking about something."

"Oh?" Roll made to sit next to Megaman, and he politely shifted his body so she could squeeze on the bed. "What are you thinking about?"

For a moment Megaman couldn't answer her, and Roll's eyes narrowed in frustration. Eventually Megaman answered her question, but there was still a lost expression in his eyes as he spoke.

"I was watching Lan sleep during school today," he explained. "For a while it was just to make sure I could wake him up when class was over for the day. Then, he started muttering and moaning in his sleep. He's not known for sleep talking, and I should know, so it was really disconcerting. I started to listen more closely and discovered that he kept muttering the same things: 'Where am I?' 'Who is that person?' 'Do I know that person?' 'How do I get out of here?' It was lucky no one but me heard him."

"Wow," Roll said, surprised. "It sounds like an intense dream."

"Yeah," Megaman muttered, then he started scratching his head. "The thing was, there was one name he kept mentioning: "Maylu, are you there?" "Help me, Maylu! I don't know where I am!" "I need you, Maylu! Please!" Like he was in some sort of danger."

"Whoa..." Roll was left speechless, and Megaman stared at the ceiling again. "Well, if it's any consolation I managed to sneak a look at something Maylu was scribbling in class."

This peaked Megaman's interest and he scrambled to a sitting position next to Roll. Roll smiled, knowing this would perk his ears up.

"What did you see?" Megaman asked, filled with curiosity.

"A very interesting illustration," Roll explained slowly, her smile growing wider. "It involved her and Lan skipping through the park together. There were love hearts dotted around their heads, a smiley sun and the biggest smiles you've ever seen on their faces. Down the bottom it read: "My dream with Lan". I almost hugged myself with pride... hey, what's so funny?"

Roll frowned when she saw Megaman trembling and smothering his hand on his mouth. She glared at him furiously, but this only broke his dam and he fell off his bed laughing. Unfortunately, this attracted the attention of their operators, who stared down at them with confused faces.

"What's going on?" Lan asked, eyes furrowing. "Megaman? What's wrong?"

"Why's he laughing?" Maylu asked, placing her hands on her hips.

"Hehehe hahaha... oh man..." Megaman gathered himself up and stared up at Lan. "Oh, sorry, I guess your laughing rubbed off on me."

This raised a few eyebrows and suspicious stares from everyone and he sweatdropped nervously.

"Is that like a delayed epidemic or something?" Lan asked, clearly confused. "I mean, even Maylu didn't laugh for that long."

Roll still wasn't impressed at Megaman's lack of compassion, so she decided to throw him in deep water.

"He was laughing at your leotard from school today," she said, her eyes turning into slits. A small smirk crept on her face when Megaman's eyes widened and his face froze in horror.

"No! That wasn't it, I swear! She's trying to frame me!" he pleaded desperately to his operator. He sweatdropped, shrank and backed away when Lan's face covered his viewing screen with a look of rage covering his features. "H-Hey, have a sense of humour... wait, no, that's not what I meant!"

"I'll deal with you later," Lan muttered in a low, dangerous voice through clenched teeth. Megaman laughed nervously while Maylu and Roll watched on with increasing amusement as Lan continued glaring at the blue navi until he remembered they were yet to reach home.

Lan turned to continue walking home, but Maylu suddenly jumped on his back, almost knocking him over. "M-Maylu? What the?"

"C'mon," she begged, beaming, "gimme a piggyback ride home. I think I need to keep an eye on the two navis, so I can't be walking or what happened to you will happen to me."

"Oh, come on, Maylu," Lan said, but he sweatdropped when Maylu began a puppy dog routine.

"C'mon, Lan, pwweeaaasseee?" she pleaded through large puppy dog eyes. Her lips were quivering in a feigned pout, like an infant who mastered the sin of greed, and she stared at Lan with the puppy dog eyes. It didn't take long for Lan's defences to crumble.

"Oh, all right," he mumbled, but he was nearly knocked over again when Maylu gave him a crushing hug while clinging to his back.

"Thank you, Lan-kun!" Maylu yelled ecstatically. (_A.N. - If I've used the wrong suffix please mention it or I'll look stupid._)

Lan shook his head, but for the second time in 10 minutes Maylu's high spirits won through and he smiled sheepishly. However, Maylu's close proximity was making him blush, so he had to hide his face from her to prevent her seeing his red face. This produced some problems with vision, as more than once he accidentally bumped into people on the footpath, almost sending him and Maylu, and the person to the ground painfully. Maylu therefore became the navigator, but even then it still took half an hour to get home.

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It was four in the afternoon when Lan (accompanied by the hitchhiking Maylu) finally arrived at his house. Upon reaching the front door, Lan bent down so that Maylu could detach herself from his back. When she did she thanked him and flashed him a smile, which was returned with a grin from the boy. Net Operators and Net Navis bid goodbye to each other, and Lan entered his house as Maylu quickly walked the rest of the way to her house to take her piano lessons.

When Lan strolled into the kitchen he found the place absent of people. There was no one in the living room, or upstairs for that matter.

'Huh, no one must be home,' he mused to himself. 'I might as well grab a bite.'

Just as he re-entered the kitchen his stomach growled angrily. He yielded to its demands and conjured himself a triple-decker subway sandwich supremus maximus, just as an afternoon snack. (A.N. - "For those who are wondering... yes, I made all that up.") He also plundered a soda from the fridge to wash the snack down with, and ignoring Megaman's lectures about ruining lectures before dinner, sat in the living room to enjoy his munchies.

Ten minutes later, Lan stretched and yawned tiredly, then patted his stomach.

"Man, I'm stuffed!" he moaned, then he accidentally let rip a humungous belch. "Oops, pardon me."

"I'm surprised alarms aren't going off outside," Megaman remarked from the PET.

"I said pardon me," Lan said irritably, but then he yawned again. "I must be really tired after school today."

"I don't see why," Megaman said. "You slept all the way through school today."

"I deserved it," Lan growled defensively. 'Besides, that dream I had really exhausted me...'

"Hey, can I ask you something?"

"What is it, Megaman?"

"What were you dreaming about today? You really worried me."

"My dream?..."

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_"You know who I am... you know... you know..."_

_"I don't understand! I don't know who you are!"_

_"Search your heart, you will find the answers you need... your heart..."_

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"It... it was nothing," Lan said quickly. "Really, nothing to worry about."

"Lan..."

"I mean it, it was nothing," Lan said exasperatedly. "Please, let it drop."

"I heard you mutter in your sleep for Maylu," Megaman said softly. "You like her, don't you?"

Lan paused, and Megaman saw a sorrowful expression on the boy's face. With a hefty sigh Lan sank into an armchair and stared down at his navi.

"Okay, I admit it," Lan said at last. "I like Maylu more than a friend! I love her, even! Even if she will never return my feelings, I will always think of her as something more than just a friend! However..." Lan stopped in mid-sentence and heaved a sigh. "I don't know whether she feels the same way. If she doesn't, I'd never make her... I'll be happy just knowing she's happy with whoever she loves... even if it's Dex."

Megaman nodded solemnly, albeit shocked at Lan's formal outburst of love for Maylu, and Lan took this time to interrogate his interrogator.

"What about you and Roll? Do you have feelings for her?"

"I... I guess do," Megaman said, looking down at the floor. "It was so subtle I hadn't realised it, but I think I've fallen for her." He noticed the rings under Lan's eyes and said, "You really need some sleep. When we get to your room, jack me into your computer. I need to log on to the Net."

"A-A-A-A-All right," Lan said, stifling a yawn for all he was worth as he stumbled his way up the stairs to his room. His mind was still swimming with the idea of his fallen in love with his childhood friend, and the confessions of love from his navi for hers.

When Lan reached his room, he jacked Megaman into his computer, then crashed onto his bed for a nap. Megaman cruised through the Net, headed for Roll's homepage, as Lan entered a deep slumber.

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Maylu had reached her house about 15 minutes ago, and was practicing on her piano in her room. Roll was jacked in to the computer next to her, and was watching her operator with an amused expression on her face. Maylu was engrossed in her piano-playing to notice, but when she did she shot Roll a suspicious look.

"What's funny?" she asked. "Don't tell me you think my piano playing is funny to you."

"Oh, no, of course not," Roll said, shaking her head. "I was just remembering you and Lan playing piggyback. So kawaii!" Her eyes turned into mocking love hearts. making Maylu blush with embarrassment. "Just like a married couple!... Well, if he was carrying you in his arms, I mean... heehee..."

"It wasn't like that!" Maylu cried, halting her piano playing and looking at Roll head on. "I was just tired, that's all."

"Uh huh, right," Roll said sarcastically. "Between the two of you, I thought Lan should've been the one riding on your back. He looked exhausted."

"Yeah, I know what you mean." Maylu grew a worried expression on her face. "He looks very tired, like he had a restless sleep. I wonder what's wrong with him."

"You worry about him, don't you?" Roll asked seriously. Maylu looked at her curiously. "You do, right?"

"I... of course I do," Maylu said, flustered at such a direct question. "I mean, we've been friends for so long, and Lan's been known to get into dangerous situations."

"But Lan being tired isn't a dangerous situation, is it?"

"No, but still..."

"You love him, don't you?"

"No! I... I..." Maylu was taken back by Roll's sudden question, and found herself at a dead end for words. Finally she sighed and said, "Well, yes, I guess so. I mean, I care for him dearly, and I'd hope one day we could be more than just friends. Knowing he feels the same way would be a dream come true... but not all dreams come true."

Roll was speechless, and started to regret forcing Maylu to spill the contents of her heart. However, guilt instantly became determination - determination to succeed in her mission to unite the pre-teen lovebirds and bring about love to the two oblivious kids.

She was about to say something when she received a request to enter her homepage. She took a look at the sender, and glanced back at Maylu who was staring at the sky in lost thought. Roll was grateful for Maylu's distracted mind, for it was Megaman who was requesting permission into the homepage. She glanced quickly at Maylu again, then vanished into her homepage to await the blue navi.

When Megaman appeared on the homepage, Roll strolled up to him with her hands on her hips.

"What took you so long?" she interrogated the new arrival. Megaman sweatdropped uneasily.

"I wanted to talk to Lan about his dream," Megaman replied, scratching his head nervously. "What I got instead would make you ecstatic... but I'm sure you don't have to guess to know what it was."

"Hmm?" Roll was confused. "What did he say?"

'I guess you do,' Megaman thought. "He admitted his feelings for Maylu," he explained aloud. Roll nearly started bouncing around with joy.

"I knew it! I knew it!" she cried, although she was careful to maintain a hushed voice. "Maylu has feelings for Lan too, this is perfect! Now I know the plan will work!"

"Yeah, but are you still sure about this?" Megaman asked. "I don't want to be altered if it goes pear-shaped."

"Don't be such a cynic," Roll said reassuringly. "It'll be a snap, you'll see."

"Okay, well Lan's taken a nap, so we probably have an hour or so to make this work," Megaman said, placing his chin on his head in thought

"Perfect," Roll said, rubbing her hands together. "Roll and Megaman, the Makeshift Matchmakers, are on the case!"

She started laughing triumphantly, leaving Megaman to ponder the repercussions of whatever scheme she cooked up for Lan and Maylu. He liked himself the way he was, and only hoped everything would be smooth sailing from hereafter.

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**Lord Cynic:** "Okay, okay, I guess one more chapter will have to suffice before this is over. I think I set the mood too much for everything to be finished in this chapter. Besides, it lets people relax their eyes after reading... well, a moderate amount of typing. I hope everyone who've read this have enjoyed the story so far. The next chapter will be the last, I swear. Bring on the finale!... for next time...

Oh, before I go, there's the other Megaman fanfic I've been writing. Since I've been typing this story I've only accomplished one chapter for now, but if anyone wants to beta read it and gimme some feedback it wouldn't go unappreciated. I've never really asked for this before, so it's new to me. If you want to comply to this, send me an email instead of a review. Name the email title as "Re: Megaman fanfic beta" or thereabouts, but make sure I know what the email is about or it'll be treated as junk mail. My email address(es) is in my bio if you want to read it. Okay, later dudes and dudettes. Lord Cynic, logging out!"


	4. The coming together of inseparable force...

**Lord Cynic:** "All right, I swear this is the finale of the fanfic!" (_receives reproachful looks from readers_) "Sorry, but all good things must come to an end... right?" (_cricket noises sound_) "Hmmph... oh well, here are responses to reviews."

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**A fan of megaman: **_Nah, ending the fanfic wasn't a forced decision. Like I said before I meant to end it last time but it would be too long. Besides, I wanted to set a mood of regret and longing... if it worked. Thanks for the compliment, and don't worry. I'm watching Megaman NT Warrior episodes as they come... except that they started over today. Oh well, a second chance to tape them! Boo yeah!... yeah... sorry about the mental images. Did you actually read it?..._

**Anime Master ZERO:** _Eh... sorry, I don't know who he is. I read your profile, so I could see why you'd be asking. Still, I have no idea, and unless he's in NT Warriors I won't be any closer to knowing his identity anytime soon._

**Tsuki Tamer:** _Well, I haven't had luck so far. It doesn't worry me though, since I went out on a limb with this without betas. I had to search the net for the proper suffix... it was either chan or kun, and in another Megaman fanfic I read Lan call Maylu-chan. There's also the san suffix, but I'm lost on that at the moment._

**Macross-Green:** _Eh... I guess I should've waited eh? Ah well, don't worry about it. I actually tried to mock Dex's intelligence on the whole, but whatever works. Sorry to Dex fans out there... but still he's not the brightest bulb in the chandelier is he? I tried to add as much detail as possible to Lan's dream, and I'm glad you liked it. And yes, Roll is shrewd... very shrewd... but you hit it right on the head. She's up to something... I just won't say what. Don't worry about reading too much into things... I do that unnecessarily and it kinda distorts my way of thinking... especially when writing fanfics... okay, 'nuff said._

**dreamz-of-hope:**_Welcome back, oh weird and wacky one. I update fast? Cool! Typityness indeed! Yeah, I know that Nelly song... and yeah, you're right. I am not a pretty sight. Too many people have gotten things right today... aaaahhhh!!! Gotta cover myself up! "What? It's 84 degrees outside? Ah, a couple-a days! Anyway, this one is for you!" ... sorry, Comedy Company. I dare not criticise anyone's appearances... not just for hypocrisy reasons but for my physical safety... shudder... love is in the air?... where's the aerosol can? (_gets death glares_) Just kidding! I wouldn't dream of ruining the moment... if I want my limbs. Lan/Maylu and Megaman/Roll rule over other Megaman couples. Heh heh..._

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**Lord Cynic:** "Just in case anyone who reads my GS fanfics is reading this (or perhaps just anyone who's wondering), my AIM changed. People don't read profiles a lot, but my new AIM's in there if you wanna look. Okay, let's bring this baby home - for good!"

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**Lord Cynic:** "I don't own Megaman or Megaman NT Warriors. 'nuff said."

** hr **

**Chapter 4: The coming together of inseparable forces**

_Lan opened his eyes to find himself back in the dark forest. He gingerly climbed to his feet to take a look around, and had a feeling of deja vu. There was the purple fog as predicted, and, if he dared to stray too far, he expected to run into the force field again. Yep, just like last time. _

_He wandered the small space of freedom he had, contemplating a plan to find his way through this almost impossible situation. Once again Megaman was absent from his side, but he didn't worry about it like last time. He knew what he had to do, and that he had to do it alone. _

_Lan scanned the area, and to his surprise spotted what he thought to be a small crack in the barrier. He approached it very cautiously, and studied it thoroughly. Sure enough, there was a sizable opening in the force field, where Lan could see further into the forest. It took the boy a few seconds to realise that in fact he was the one who busted the gap in the barrier from last time._

_'You know who I am,' the voice had said from his previous experience here. 'Listen to your heart and you will find the answers you seek.'_

_He shook his head of that memory and charged himself up for running through the barrier. A simple task, he told himself. Just go through it and you'll end up in the old building like last time, then you'll be able to try and find out about the person in the mist. His mind was set, focussed, determined, his legs itching to do their job. With a final fleeting glance around him, Lan charged straight into the barrier and into pitch black._

_Where he ended up was not where he wanted to be. Instead of the old building, he found himself in front of rusted, swinging gates. After shaking off his confusion he tilted his head upwards to read the sign. What he read drained the colour from his face: "Dentech City Cemetery." _(A.N. - "It doesn't matter to me if there isn't a cemetery in the anime... there's one here. Nernee.")

_It took Lan a long while to compose himself before venturing into the darkness of the cemetery. He wondered what he would find once he was inside..._

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Roll watched Megaman depart from her homepage, then stared up at Maylu. The redheaded girl was continuing her piano lessons, but it seemed her fingers were tapping the keys on their own accord while her mind was elsewhere. There was a glazed look in her eyes that made Roll hesitate about her plan, but the pink navi knew it was the only option now. They had betted before the flop, then re-betted on the turn, but when the river was turned up Roll knew she had the cards to make the winning play. (_A.N. - "Sorry, I watch Poker on TV.")_

She made sure that Maylu was looking anywhere but at her, and she streaked through the NET towards the air-conditioning unit. When she arrived, she immediately began tampering with the programs to increase the temperature of the room. When it was about 95 degrees F she became content and streaked back to her PET before Maylu could catch her missing.

'Phase 1, complete,' the navi thought to herself, pleased that her plan was finally in motion. She watched Maylu play her piano (with a focussed mind this time) and waited patiently for the next step to progress. She knew it would have to take time, so she decided to kill two birds with one stone and sent an invitation to Megaman to join her again.

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Megaman was still streaming through the Net towards Lan's house when he received an incoming message. He opened it curiously, then sighed exasperatedly when he realised it was from Roll asking him to come back. However, for some reason he couldn't say no to her, so he naturally avoided a stray navi streaming in the opposite direction, swerved around and went back the way he came.

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Less than two minutes later (how long did he plan to take to get back to Lan in that case?) he re-entered Roll's homepage. He scanned the area quickly and found Roll standing about 10 metres away from her. A sweatdrop crept onto his forehead when he realised she was smiling a sinister smile, an sneaky smile, a suspicious smile, a scheming smile, and a cunning smile into one.

"I knew you wouldn't be able to resist," she said, and she took a step towards the blue navi, who stepped back on impulse. "What's the matter, Megaman? You don't look comfortable."

"Oh, it's... it's not that," Megaman said all-too-quickly. "It was just a reflex, that's all."

"Oh, okay." Roll's sly smile changed into a more pleasant one, and Megaman relaxed slightly. "C'mon, we've gotta wait for our plan to take shape."

Megaman nodded hesitantly, and the two sat on the floor of the PET to watch the concentrating Maylu. Roll's eyes brightened when she detected beads of perspiration (kinda sounds masculine, that word) dancing on her operator's forehead, causing Megaman to sweatdrop again. However, for some reason he felt soothingly warm sitting next to her, and he knew exactly why. The colour rose to his cheeks faster than Lan could scoff a bowl of rice, but thankfully Roll was too busy watching Maylu to notice.

"Oww, burn!" Roll suddenly cried, jumping a foot in the air and causing Megaman to do the same.

When they landed (painfully) back on the ground, she spun around to see what had tried to singe her. She was shocked to see Megaman literally burning up. The blue (or red) navi only just realised the sudden change in his appearance and temperature, and knew it was too late to do anything about it.

Roll stared at her friend, who stared back at her as blankly as he could through a literally flaming face.

"Why, you're absolutely glowing red!" she cried. "What happened?"

"Mrrnnrnrrnmmm," Megaman mumbled quietly, not even attempting to make a legitimate word. Roll tilted her head in confusion and continued staring at him.

"What was that?" she asked, then her eyes spotted a bright tinge of pink on Megaman's cheeks that was faintly visible in the dark redness. "Megaman? Are you blushing?"

"H-Huh?" Megaman became extremely flustered and struggled to string two words together. "I... what do you mean... it's just hot in here, that's all..."

"Awww, that's so cute!" Roll cooed, clapping her hands together. "Megaman's blushing! Why would that be?"

"I... um..." Megaman scratched his head embarrassedly, trying to find words to say. "I've... been meaning to tell you something."

"What's that?" Roll asked, genuine surprise covering her expression. She became more confused as Megaman looked up at her, his face almost completely filled with increased blushing.

"I... I..." he began to say, but a soft moan from outside the PET drew the navis' attention.

Maylu's face was as red as Megaman's now, but from the heat instead. Her eyes were glazed over from exhaustion, and she looked ready to collapse. Roll knew there was little time left for her plan to succeed and she turned to Megaman.

"Megaman! Go get Lan, quickly!"

Megaman nodded, his face its normal tone now, and teleported out of Roll's PET and towards Lan as quickly as possible.

Roll watched him go, then turned back to Maylu who was losing energy, fast.

"Please hurry, Megaman," she whispered. She left her PET to reconfigure the air conditioning again to return the temperature to normal, then returned to the PET and waited hopefully.

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Megaman sped through the Net, desperate to reach Lan as soon as possible. He was hoping Maylu wasn't suffering more than Roll had intended her to. Wait, what was he thinking? He hoped Maylu wasn't suffering, period. He knew Roll would never let things go too far, although he had to admit Roll was ambitious from time to time.

His thoughts went back to the awkward confrontation between him and the pink navi. He hadn't realised he was blushing until Roll had pointed it out, and it had caused his blushing to intensify. It was as if his feelings for Roll were taking over his body completely, enveloping it literally in a fiery passion of love. And he was so close to telling her! So close!

He sighed sadly. It would never have worked anyway. She was too good for him, and he didn't know why he let it go. It was better than letting her know and facing up to rejection, but his emotions refused to push his feelings away. He didn't know why they wouldn't, as there was nothing to be gained but heartache and rejection from the inevitable (so he thought).

Eventually he shook himself free of these thoughts and quickened his pace. He needed to get to Lan before Maylu collapsed, and that was his first priority - Even more so than his overwhelming feelings for the pink navi who was too good to be true.

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_Lan wandered slowly through the graveyard, shuddering as the chilly wind blew around him. It wasn't any help that it was a cemetery after all, and such a creepy place would make even Dex tremble. Nonetheless, Lan had a strange feeling he was meant to find something here, something that would be vital to the questions he held in his mind. He pushed on with that hope as his motivation, although he still had difficulty wading his way past the numerous gravestones._

_'What is it I'm hoping to find?' he thought. He had to reserve his strength for his journey through the cemetery, so he dared not speak out loud. Besides, someone might be listening. 'I'm getting the feeling that someone wants me to be here, but I'm not sure why.'_

_As if answering his thoughts, a voice spoke from out of nowhere._

_"Your heart knows why you are here," it said. "It knows your deepest desires and your biggest fears. In this cemetery, your #1 desire and #1 fear will be combined to show you the consequences of one of the future choices you will have to make in life. A choice that will change everything in your life, for better or for worst."_

_Lan was about to call out to the voice when a blurry picture shined in front of him. It took a while to register, but the fuzzy image concentrated to show Lan something a fascinating vision._

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**There was Lan, well, another Lan, lying on his back against a tree in the park. His eyes were closed, and a pleasant smile washed over his face. He looked much older than Normal Lan, at least 21 years old. The leaves of the tree swayed gently in the wind and the evening sky shone brightly. It seemed like a night-time paradise in his own home. The Lan in the vision looked blissful, as if there was nothing in life that could tamper with the smile plastered on his face. Yep, definitely looked like paradise from where normal Lan was watching.**

**However, what happened next left Lan speechless. The Lan in the vision opened one eye to glance to his left, and his smile grew wider. He sat up against the tree and patted the ground next to him, where a certain redheaded girl sat, giggling. Her head turned, and Lan was astounded to see that it was Maylu of all people. She, like Vision Lan, was 21, but Normal Lan was rendered breathless by how stunningly beautiful she'd become in almost 10 years. Her red hair now flowed freely down past her shoulders, although she still kept the symbol of her navi on the left side of her hair. Her eyes were bright and shining with joy, and, what was that? It looked like... love. Yes, it was love. Love, it seemed, for the Lan in the vision. Normal Lan's jaw dropped considerably, but he was too transfixed to shove it back into place.**

**"Hey there, girly," Vision Lan said pleasantly. "Didn't think you'd make it."**

**"Oh, put a sock in it," Vision Maylu said half jokingly. "I promised I'd be here, didn't I? Besides, I think it's ironic for you to be saying I'm late, for once."**

**The Vision Lan smirked, and he stretched out against the tree. Vision Maylu watched him get himself comfortable, then she lay down and rested her head on Vision Lan's chest. They gazed longingly into each other's eyes, then to Normal Lan's shock drew in for a soft kiss.**

**"I love you," Vision Maylu said softly, her eyes clear and bright.**

**"Of course you do," Vision Lan said, with a slight smirk. Vision Maylu lifted herself up to give him a playful slug on the shoulder, and they both grinned at each other.**

**The moon vanished from the sky as the lovebirds in the vision stared dreamily at each other. The rising sun gradually replaced it, and the lovebirds in the vision as well as the spectator looked on in wonder. As the sun rose majestically, the colour of the sky changed into a darkish orange, signalling the beginning of a new day. For the vision Lan and Maylu, it was the beginning of a beautiful relationship.**

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_Lan was staring at the vision with the same incredulous he had when he first glimpsed what he thought to be the ultimate impossibility. However, it was wiped away as the vision Lan and Maylu shared another kiss, and he was left in the cemetery, alone, once more. That is, until the same voice as before called to him._

_"You have now seen the result of one of the choices you can make," it said. "You and Maylu would be happy together. Dex may object to it at first, but in time he would realise you were meant to be together. Everyone would eventually be happy and life as you knew it would never have any doubts ever again."_

_Lan was going to ponder this, but the voice interrupted his thoughts by speaking again._

_"However, the choices you make in life are a two-way street as you should know. Where there is one opportunity, there is another with a totally different consequence. An opportunity gained, an opportunity lost. In front of you, you will discover the consequences of a lost opportunity."_

_Lan became confused at this, but then he jumped when he saw a gravestone appear in front of him out of nowhere. He shook himself free of the shock, then scolded himself for acting silly. When he was composed, he bent down to read the gravestone. What he read drained his face completely of colour, and his voice was sucked out of his mouth._

**R.I.P**

**Maylu Oyama**

**Aged 21**

**"A loving and caring friend. Loyal wife, talented Net Operator. A loving daughter. May you life a long and blissful afterlife. We will miss you, Maylu."**

_"This... this can't be," Lan gasped after regaining his voice. "First that Maylu would marry... Dex of all people, and second that she would die... so young."_

_"This is what happens when an opportunity is lost," the voice said in a melancholy tone. "Why don't you have a closer look at the gravestone?"_

_"Huh?" Lan squinted his eyes and peered at the gravestone. His eyes scanned the writing, until they glimpsed some writing at the bottom of the stone. He squatted so he could read it, and could tell by the handwriting that Yai had written something there. He read the writing out loud. "They say she died of a terrible disease. The truth is: she died of a broken heart. I hope you're happy, Lan Hikari."_

_If his face wasn't absent of colour before, it certainly was now. He stood up straight, unbelieving in what he just read. 'A broken heart? I don't... I don't believe this...'_

_"Believe it," the mysterious voice said, as if it read Lan's mind. "When you were 18 you left for an adventure and never came back to Dentech City. Maylu never got the chance to tell you how she felt before you were gone. She had tried countless times while you were both attending school, but each time you would find an excuse to go and do something. In the end her sorrow drove her to marry Dex, but even that couldn't mend the unfixable. She came down with a horrible disease, and died in hospital."_

_"No, that can't be... Maylu... Maylu... I'm sorry..." Tears began to form in Lan's eyes, his lips trembled, and his knees grew weak. Eventually he crumbled to the ground, tears cascading down his face. "Maylu, I'm sorry! I'm sorry!!!!"_

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Lan awoke with a start to find Megaman yelling at him. He opened his eyes slowly; hoping that what just happened was just a dream. To his utter relief it was, and finally he gave his attention to the blue navi shouting in his direction.

"M-Megaman? What is it?" he asked, rubbing his eyes. "What's wrong?"

"It's Maylu!" Megaman yelled. "She's in trouble, she's about to faint!"

"What?!" Lan's eyes shot open in an instant, and he ran to the window. He peered through it into Maylu's, and was horrified to find Maylu almost in a state of exhaustion. Her cheeks were ruby red, and she was wobbling and trying to maintain her balance by holding on to her piano.

Lan watched his childhood friend (and crush) try to maintain consciousness, and his eyes burned with a passion Megaman had rarely seen before. He wrenched open the window, then grabbed a cord lying on the floor.

"What are you doing?" Megaman asked. "You can't do that, that's crazy!"

"There isn't time!" Lan yelled in his defence. His eyes were still flaming with determination.

Megaman backed down, figuring that for once Lan knew what he was doing. He watched Lan climb out of the window into a tree and tie the cord around a sturdy branch. When Lan returned into the bedroom, the blue navi decided to speak up.

"You're taking me with you, aren't you?" he asked.

"Of course," Lan replied. He attached the PET to his hip, then grabbed the cord and tested its strength. "This should be strong enough for me to swing across."

"What?!" Megaman's eyes widened in disbelief. "Please tell me you're joking! You're not seriously going to try and swing yourself into Maylu's window, are you?"

"I have no choice, I have to do something! Maylu needs me!" Lan shouted desperately. (_A.N. - "Eh... sorry... a lollipop if you know where the basis of that quote came from."_)

Megaman nodded understandably, and Lan readied himself for the mid-air flight from the Hikari household to the Sakurai household. After a few deep breathes, Lan took to the afternoon sky (which was almost turning into night).

"Aww aaaahhh, ohhh ohh ohhh!!!" Lan yelled in a Tarzan-like fashion. (_A.N. - "Okay, so I forget what it actually sounds like..."_) "I'm coming for you, Maylu!"

"Lan, look out!"

"Uh oh!"

Lan miscalculated the height of his flight, and instead of cruising through Maylu's window he smacked into the wall just above it. Megaman cringed painfully at the impact, then shook his head as Lan drifted slowly down the wall and collapsed into Maylu's bedroom.

It only took a few seconds for Lan to recover. When he did, Maylu was already on the floor, her face flushed from heat. Her eyes were closed in unconsciousness, and when Lan saw her he almost couldn't compose himself.

"No... not again..." Lan's lips trembled, and Megaman and Roll were stunned to see him show that much emotion. "I'm not letting this happen again... I can't... not before... not before she knows..."

He rushed over to the unconscious body of Maylu, then bent his head down onto her chest to check for a heartbeat. When he heard a light dump-ba-dump inside Maylu's chest his spirits rose considerably.

"She's still alive... thank God..." He breathed a sigh of relief, then pondered over what to do. He didn't know many emergency procedures, as his knowledge was mainly for Netbattles.

"Don't you know what to do?" Megaman and Roll asked simultaneously. when Lan nodded dumbly the navis fell down in stupidity.

"Well, I've never been in a situation like this before!" Lan said in his defence. "Maylu's always been the smart one in times like this... except now she's the fallen person."

Roll sighed exasperatedly. 'Boys, they're completely clueless sometimes,' she thought to herself.

"If only I could bring her back to," Lan muttered, and that's when Roll dropped a rather less-than-subtle suggestion.

"Give her the kiss of life!"

"What?!" Lan's jaw dropped. "You can't be serious!"

"What, are you saying you don't want to?" Roll asked, toying with the poor boy. Megaman watched idly, choosing to stay out of this. However, that was until Lan consulted the ever-reliable navi.

"Do you think I should?" he asked.

"It'll kill two birds with one stone, won't it?" Megaman asked, smiling wryly.

Lan sweatdropped nervously, then bent down and placed his lips on Maylu's. A surge of energy poured from his body into hers, but all Lan could think about was that the moment had come at last. Sure, it wasn't a very romantic way for it to come by, but it came by nonetheless. If only Maylu was awake, then he'd know if it was being returned with the same love he felt for her.

Speaking of which, Maylu's eyes were starting to open as she awoke from unconsciousness. The first thing she felt was the touch of Lan's lips on hers, and bliss completely filled her body. Her first kiss, and with the boy she'd loved for so long! Then she took a page from Roll's book, and wondered if she should play a game with poor Lan. His eyes were closed, so he obviously couldn't tell whether or not Maylu was awake. This would definitely be fun, and a way to know if he felt the way she felt for him. She closed her eyes again and waited to see what Lan would do.

Lan's kiss eventually broke, and he stood back to see Maylu's eyes still closed, her body lifeless. His stomach plummeted, and he glanced back at Megaman desperately. The navi simply shrugged (he hadn't seen Maylu awaken), and Lan suddenly felt empty, alone.

"No... this isn't how it's meant to be..." he whispered. "This is not the way I wanted her to go... not like this... not before she knew how much she meant to me..."

The smallest of discreet smiles spread on Maylu's face, and this time Megaman noticed. However, one dangerous glare from Roll convinced him not to say anything as Lan continued whispering while staring at the floor.

"I've tried to push it aside for so long, and I hadn't even realised it. I was always tied up in Netbattles and fighting World 3, but deep inside my heart was yearning for something... someone. It took me a while to understand, but now I know... I love you, Maylu Sakurai. I think I have for a long time now, but I've never realised until recently. If you ever awaken, I want you to know I love you, even if you'll never feel the same. I just want you to be happy, I - Maylu! You're alive!"

The boy was ecstatic when Maylu's eyes opened (for the second time, although Lan didn't know about that). She was smiling tiredly, and Lan reached down to give her a hug. She returned it gratefully, then with Lan's help she rose into a sitting position on the floor.

"Oh dear, how long have I been unconscious for?" she asked innocently.

"Megaman told me about 10 minutes," Lan answered. "I'm glad you're all right."

"Thanks, Lan." She smiled at him, then decided to play the game. "I actually had an interesting dream while I was unconscious."

"What was it about?" Lan asked curiously.

"Oh, I dreamed you were saying something," Maylu explained. "Something about me."

"What... was that?" Lan was getting nervous as Maylu's smile grew wider.

"I dreamed you were saying how much you care about me. How through all the Netbattles you had and all the times you fought World 3 you always had a place in your heart for me. How your feelings for me weren't unknown to you until just recently. How... you love me." Maylu was expecting Lan to put two and two together (A.N.: - "_Even he had to have better math skills than Dex, right, Macross-Green?"_). Typically, Lan hadn't figured out that Maylu had heard everything he'd said while he thought she was dead, and she drew closer to him, until their faces were inches apart. 'Boys, they're completely clueless sometimes.' "Lan, don't you get it? That wasn't a dream, I heard everything you said. I just want to say... I love you too."

Maylu drew Lan into a kiss, a real kiss this time, and Lan felt fireworks go off in his heart. There he was, kissing the girl he thought he was destined to be with. His heart swelled ten times over, and he leaned into the kiss. All the feelings of regret, sorrow and fear were washed away in this magical moment, and the only way to ruin it is to obey the rules of human biology and surface for oxygen.

Lan and Maylu stared in opposite directions, their faces flushing brightly with what just happened between them. However, both felt a sort of impenetrable bliss that could only come from true love. When they at last turned to face each other again, Lan held Maylu's hand in his firmly.

"Please don't scare me like that again," he begged. "I couldn't bear it if you were gone from me."

"I won't," Maylu promised, smiling. "Thanks for worrying about me though."

"How could I not?" Lan asked matter-of-factly, and the two human lovebirds shared another kiss.

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Megaman had teleported into Roll's PET, and now the pair of them were watching the newly united doves of love. Megaman was smiling happily, and seemed glad that everything had worked out okay, while Roll had a proud smile on her face with the self-satisfaction that her plan was a success. However, she knew she had one thing left to do, and that involved the blue navi sitting beside her. She turned to Megaman and ushered him closer. He complied, a confused expression on his face, until Roll smiled another one of those sinisterly sly smiles, like the one she had earlier.

"Hey, Megaman," she began slowly, "y'know what you were trying to tell me before?"

"Y-Yeah?" Megaman asked, hoping this wasn't going where he had a hunch it was going. He sweatdropped heavily when Roll leaned towards him. "W-What is it, Roll? Something on my face?"

'Silly baka,' Roll thought amusedly to herself. She gazed into Megaman's eyes. "I just want to tell you something before you tell me what you have to say."

Megaman was about to open his mouth, but Roll caught him with a gentle kiss. Megaman's eyes widened, but gradually he left himself get taken away into paradise. Their worlds, much like their operators', melded into one with the soft contact of their lips together. Megaman couldn't believe what was happened, and he guessed Lan was thinking the exact same thing when Maylu kissed him.

When Megaman and Roll finally broke apart, much like their operators their faces were burning red. Megaman was staring through the floor, and Roll was staring into space with a blissful smile on her face. Both seemed lost for words, but when Megaman regained his composure he spoke, albeit with a slight tremble.

"I.. erm... you... that... um..." he stuttered pointlessly. Roll giggled at his difficulty to speak fluently, and this increased his embarrassment. Finally he managed to spurt out, "You took the words right out of my mouth."

"Then let me put them back in," Roll said sweetly, and before Megaman could speak he was caught in another kiss. A few seconds later they released, then Roll asked, "Now, what did you want to say?"

"I... I..." Megaman was extremely flustered, but then be blurted, "I love you, Roll."

"And I love you too."

Megaman stared at her in shock and she simply shrugged, giggled and hummed to herself. One thought went through the blue navi's mind.

'Love's harder than doing Lan's homework, and twice as hard as battling Protoman... but five times as rewarding.'

**The End**

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**Lord Cynic:** "Okay, I hope everyone enjoyed the fanfic. I apologise if wasn't as long as people preferred. The dream sequence was inspired pretty much by a Zoids romance story called Fated Dreams, by cyberdemon. It's a Van/Fiona story, and while probably 5000 words and 3 chapters longer than this story, it's short'n'sweet... ish. I'm just making sure no one bites my head off if and when they realise part of my fanfic sounds like part of another. Like I said in response to Esty-chan in chapter 3, I get my inspiration for writing my stories by reading other stories. Wouldn't anyone else?... probably not 100 of the time, but it works for me. Anyway, this story's over, just in case it hasn't sunk in yet.

I spoke of another story-in-development of mine last chapter. Well, if anyone wants me to I could always post the first chapter in a few days, just to get a response, or something. Be warned, it's a lengthy bugger, like these chapters, but hopefully it'll quench some thirst. Don't expect it to be as obvious as this story though. I'm going to put all my brainpower and intellectual thinking into the fanfic..."

(**Cricket sounds as he grows silent**)

"Um... Lord Cynic, logging out!"


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